Not the News We Wanted

Friday was quite a day.  I had surgeries and was on call for the weekend.  Thursday afternoon they called to tell us Ainsley would be admitted for an overnight stay on Friday.  So Superwoman (known to most of you as Jenny) got all the kids up and to the various friend's houses that they needed to be to by 7:15 am, and got Ainsley down to the Children's hospital by 8:00 am.  They accessed her port and got things rolling.  Amazing, Jenny, absolutely amazing.

I was in surgery when the doctors delivered the news to Jenny about the results of Ainsley's bone marrow biopsy.  If we go back to the analogy of the weeds in the lawn, after the first 29 days of chemo (induction phase) we should find that the weeds are gone.  This is called the "minimal residual disease" or MRD.  There are essentially 3 categories you fall into after that:  low risk of recurrence (no weeds), standard risk, or high risk (still weeds).  Ainsley still has cancer cells in her marrow, and she falls into the high risk category.  Not what we wanted to hear.  Jenny got the information on her own, and sent it to me in text form.  It was an excruciating few hours until the surgery finished before I was able to call Jenny to talk to her.  I got to stop by for a few minutes and give Jenny and Ainsley hugs, then it was off again to the hospital.  It was about 830pm before I was able to get back to them and start processing what had happened.

What it all means is this:  Before, we were swinging with a hammer to cure the Leukemia.  Since Ainsley is now in the high risk category, we will now be swinging with a sledge hammer.  Higher chance of fevers and medicine side effects, more frequent chemotherapy doses and more frequent trips to the hospital.  She'll be getting lumbar punctures 6 of the next 8 weeks and instead of just weekly visits, she'll be adding 4 days a week for 4 of the next 8 weeks.  Sledge hammer dropping.

So, it was a hard weekend for Jenny and I.  The girls had a great weekend, thankfully.  They played with friends, and our friend Cher, stayed overnight with them Friday night.  They have not stopped talking about the fun that they had!  We are so grateful that through all of this, the kids seem to be able to enjoy life, thank you in large part to the amazing friends, teachers, and primary leaders that are constantly sharing their love and support.

On a much happier note, Ainsley's amazing personality has started to come back as the steroids have exited her system.  She is back to laughing and playing.  For those that missed it, here is her response to the wonderful Zumba fundraiser held for her by our dear friends in Arizona.  Thank you Becca, Zumba Jill, and Prestige Dance Academy.  Thank you to all that attended and shook your booties!

Here's a fun picture of her with her American Girl doll, Belle.  Notice the matching pajamas, thanks to Grammy.  She was laughing with the nurses this weekend as she spent most of it in the hospital.  This girl is amazing.  She was so funny walking up and down the halls, pushing her dolly in the stroller.  She is also amazing at comforting and watching over Hudson.  She loves to snuggle him.  Lead on Ainsley!  We are following your lead and love you to pieces.

It was General Conference from Salt Lake City this weekend and we are eagerly looking forward to watching it.  We were in one (or more) hospitals and didn't get to follow it.  We know there will be some directed guidance for us.  If you missed it, take a look at lds.org